Heart Lessons Podcast

Although at times life circumstances can make it seem as though God's still small voice is too small or too distant to hear, the truth is that He is always working in the hearts of His children, guiding and prompting us to walk well in the unique story He has written for each one of us. The Heart Lessons Podcast features conversations centered on how God moves in the hearts of His beloved daughters to help us best navigate the path He has for us, the grief, the grit, the grace, and everything in between. Real women. Real stories. Real faith.

Today on Heart Lessons I chat with Kristin Schell, the wonderful heart behind the Turquoise Table/Front Yard People Movement. Our conversation centers on bringing the heart of the turquoise table--community and genuine connection-- to our Thanksgiving tables. Recipes, how to handle the workload, how to make a guest list -- you'll find it all and more in my conversation with Kristin.

On today's episode of Heart Lessons, recording artist Nichole Nordeman shares how she learned greater dependency on Jesus through the difficulty of a broken marriage. She shares how the pain of her divorce caused her to become more real with others, and develop a more authentic relationship with Jesus. Plus we talk about a line from her album, Every Mile Mattered, that reads, "And you cannot imagine all the places you'll see Jesus, but you'll find Him everywhere you thought He wasn't supposed to go."

Today's episode is the audio version of the FB Live: Ask Us Anything video I did with Holly Colonna and Kristin Hernandez of Through The Lens Podcast. We take the time to answer listener submitted questions regarding pregnancy and infant loss. We hope your heart feels heard <3

Today's episode features Beautiful&Beloved founder, Amber Newberry. Amber opens up her heart and shares her story of infant loss through abortion, and how Jesus met her and redeemed and restored her. Amber's story is special and sacred and a perfect picture of God's matchless grace. My prayer is that this episode will open your heart to empathy, love, and compassion for post-abortive women so that they can know the truth of the Healer of all things.

Today's conversation features Deb Dougherty, the Perinatal Bereavement RN for the hospital system here in our local area. Today Deb shares her story of losing her precious baby boy, how she serves bereaved mothers, how to distinguish between depression and grief, and shares ideas for keeping your baby's memory alive. So thankful for women like Deb who compassionately serve the infant loss community.

Heart Lesson: God is always there, and there is a reason why things happen. Stay close to Him so that you know what He wants in your life.

Today's episode features Kristin Hernandez, co-host of Through The Lens Podcast. Today Kristin shares her stories of infant loss and multiple miscarriages. Her honesty and vulnerability in this episode are deeply encouraging for any of us who have had to wrestle with the Lord with the hardest questions of life.

Today's episode features author, speaker, and loss mama Adriel Booker. Adriel shares her story of multiple miscarriages, encourages loss mothers that it is ok to grieve on a wide spectrum of emotions, and advocates to the world for how to tenderly care for bereaved mothers. She also challenges us to allow the Lord to remake our pain into something beautiful.

Pregnancy loss can be such an intangible form of grief, especially for people who aren't experiencing it themselves.

The human heart itself will grieve differently from instance to instance and from circumstance to circumstance.

Love is never safe, it is always risky, and that's hard for our mama hearts.

When you lose a baby you aren't just losing that little one, but you're losing the life you had begun to imagine.

After a mother loses a third baby, what else is there to say?

There is just no one right way to grieve. We're all going to respond differently, even as we find the common threads in the midst of it.

God is not intimidated by our big questions. He is not put off by our humanity. It is our heart posture makes all the difference. Our heart posture should say, "I need you to meet me here and help me understand."

I think the big questions keep us tethered to God because we can't find the answer to those questions without some level of withness with Jesus.

Especially as believers we should absolutely be able to rejoice with people then they're celebrating, but we should also walk alongside them when they're suffering.

What would you do for a new mom, and what would you do for someone grieving a death? It's that complicated and that simple.

Your grief might undo you, but it can also remake you if you are willing to let Christ work with you to make something beautiful happen.

What does it mean to pull heaven to earth right now?

When we tell our stories it gives others a sense of permission to share theirs too.

On today's episode of the Heart Lessons Podcast I have the privilege of chatting with Deidra Riggs. Deidra is an author and speaker passionate about showing God's love to the world. Today we talk about what it means to love outside of our comfort zones and how sometimes we have to push aside our own personal comforts in order to pursue real, authentic relationships with others. The world will know our God by our love.

Today's episode features Bethany and Kristen of Girl Defined Ministries. Their passion is to help young women learn how scripture defines things like identity, relationships, beauty, etc. so that they can approach these topics in a way that pleases the Lord. Today we talk about pursuing godly relationships and being content in waiting. We also tackle questions like can we really be "just friends" with guys, and do Christian girls have to date only other Christian guys. Loved chatting with these lovely ladies.

In today's episode of the Heart Lessons Podcast, I chat with Lindsey Goff Viducich. Lindsey is a teacher with a passion for showing kids how to love the world well. Today we talk about why kids should show love to the world and how to follow their lead in loving others. Lindsey shares some inspirational stories from her own childhood, as well as her life in the classroom, to sufficiently inspire us to empower our kids to love the world well.

For the month of September, our heart focus here on the podcast will be: living with and loving others well. Kicking off this series is my interview with Beth McCord. Today we chat about the Enneagram personality typing system, what it is, how we can use it to better understand ourselves and others, and how the Gospel redeems even the most challenging aspects of our personalities. My hope for this episode is that it will grow inside each one of us a greater compassion, understanding, and appreciation for how all the nine types relate to the world.

Today's episode of the Heart Lessons Podcast features author, speaker, podcaster, and radio show host, Autumn Miles. Passionate about bold truth and raw faith, she shares her testimony of abuse, and how the Lord has redeemed her story of domestic violence. Her story is full of God's love and His beautiful redemption.

Today's episode of the Heart Lessons Podcast features my son, Micah, as he shares his heart and his experience in losing two infant siblings. He answers some of your questions and offers some sweet and encouraging words to other kids who may have lost siblings as well.

Today's guest on the Heart Lessons Podcast is children's author, Amy Parker. Today we chat about Amy's books and her heart in developing great resources for Christian parents. We also talk about the importance of grace in parenting and grace in life and how, if we serve well where we are, we are reaching the very souls God intends for us to reach with His truth.

Today's episode of the Heart Lessons Podcast features Grace Valentine, a young woman with a heart for Jesus and a passion for helping other young women find their identity and sufficiency in Christ. Today we are celebrating the launch of Grace's first book, Am I Enough: Embracing the Truth About Who You Are.

In today's episode of the Heart Lessons Podcast, I chat with Cara Whitney, wife of Dan Whitney (aka Larry the Cable Guy). Cara shares her testimony of coming to trust Christ as her personal Savior and how caring for her horses gave her a unique glimpse into the heart of God. We also talk about how Christians can better support those who are just beginning to pursue a relationship with Christ and the importance of loving and disciplining those new to the Christian faith.

On today's episode, I chat with Tracey Murtha, wife of the late Greg Murtha. We chat about what Greg's cancer journey was like from her perspective and some of the challenges of living without her beloved husband, but mostly we talk about how Greg's cancer diagnosis opened the Murtha's eyes to the needs of the people around them, and how Tracey continues to live with this same love and compassion for reaching others.

This episode of the Heart Lessons Podcast features actor, producer, and author Candace Cameron Bure. We chat about her newest book, Kind is the New Classy, and why kindness is so important. We also talk strategies for how to be kind when you don't feel like it, and why Christians sometimes have a hard time displaying kindness to those who hold viewpoints that are different from their own.

On this final part of the Father's Day series here on the Heart Lessons Podcast, Nigel Anderson shares his perspective on fatherhood, approaching racial issues with grace, and how we can all be unified under the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a very sensitive but very important topic, and I am so thankful for Nigel's willingness to share his heart and his wisdom and speak into these issues with such a spirit of grace. May you receive it with just as much love and grace.

In this second part of the Father's Day series here on the Heart Lessons podcast, Chris Tate shares his heart and his journey with infant loss. He shares the story of his two beautiful baby girls, Ellie and Elsie, and speaks openly about what it is like to be a loss father, to support your wife in grief, and how to trust the Lord even in the midst of such tragedy.

In Part I of the Father's Day Series here on the Heart Lessons Podcast, Jerrad Lopes from Dad Tired shares what it means for a husband and father to lead his family well, and to look to the perfect Father as the prime example of leadership and service to his family.

In this episode, I share the part of my story where I was most angry at God. You might be surprised to hear that it was not when my unborn babies were diagnosed or in the grieving months that followed my losses but rather, a time when I felt like God owed something to me.

Through Jesus, I, a sinner, am made righteous before the Father. He traded the death and eternal punishment I deserved for eternal life.

God owed me nothing but gave me everything.

I had forgotten that God owed nothing to me and that even the breath in my lungs belonged to Him.

I am to live my life in sacrificial surrender to the Lord because of what He has done for me. As soon as I forget that, I begin to feel entitled to certain things in life.

I had been clinging to the desire for a healthy baby so tightly, probably throwing a spiritual tantrum. But before the Lord could bless me in that way, I needed to calm my heart and remember my place as a living sacrifice and be at peace with God's good and pleasing and perfect will, even if that meant no more babies.

This is not a formula for getting what you want but rather, a reminder to surrender to the Lord's will because He owed us nothing and yet gave us everything, which is far beyond what any of us deserve.